Abstract
This chapter discusses the general features of the atmosphere, composition of the early atmosphere, growth rate of the atmosphere, the faint young Son paradox, the origin of oxygen, etc. The chapter discusses the factors controlling sea level. Changes in sea level leave an imprint in the geologic record by the distribution of sediments and biofacies, the areal extent of shallow seas as manifest by preserved cratonic sediments, and by calculated rates of sedimentation. A widely-used approach to monitor sea level is to map successions of transgressive and regressive facies in marine sediments. It also discusses the changes in the composition of seawater with time. While discussing paleoclimates, the chapter explains that major worldwide changes in climate appear to be related to plate tectonics or to astronomical phenomena. It provides the paleoclimatic indicators and their interpretations in the form of a table. Using paleoclimatic indicators together with models of atmospheric evolution, it is possible to characterize average surface temperatures and precipitation regimes with time.
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